Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission grappling

Serra won first place at the Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 1999 and third place at the 2000 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Brazil, in the brown belt division.^[10] Serra competed in the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship choking out Takanori Gomi, winning a decision over Jean Jacques Machado, and placing 2nd in the 66–76 kg division. Serra decided to forfeit the final against his teammate Marcio Feitosa.^[11]

The Ultimate Fighter

In 2006, Serra became a participant on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback on SpikeTV. On the show, Serra defeated Pete Spratt and Shonie Carter to reach the finals, his win against Carter avenging his infamous highlight-reel KO loss to Carter at UFC 31. On November 11, 2006, Serra defeated Chris Lytle at The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback Finale by split decision to become the Ultimate Fighter 4 Welterweight Tournament Champion.

His win earned him a guaranteed title shot against Georges St-Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship, as well as a $100,000 contract and $100,000 sponsorship with Xyience.^[13]

Winning the welterweight title

Serra fought St-Pierre on April 7, 2007, at UFC 69, and won the UFC Welterweight Championship by TKO via punches at 3:25 in the first round. Prior to the fight Serra was considered a substantial underdog and consequently the fight is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.

The Ultimate Fighter coach

Serra coached season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter reality show with Matt Hughes. Team Serra finished 6–2 in the first round of fights, winning six consecutive times which gave Serra the right to pick the fights in the second round. However, from then on Serra did not corner a single fighter to victory and saw all his trainees eventually lose out. The finale saw Team Hughes fighters Tommy Speer and Mac Danzig face each other for the title of Ultimate Fighter.^[14]

Serra said in season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter that Joe Scarola lost his job at Serra's jiu-jitsu school for quitting The Ultimate Fighter within the first week of the show. In exchange, Scarola opened his own academy which has created a feud among the two former friends.^[15] Relieving Scarola from his duties was difficult for Serra as the two were close friends, with Scarola serving as best man at Serra's wedding.^[16]

The two coaches were scheduled to face off for the UFC Welterweight Championship after the conclusion of the series at UFC 79. Serra, however, was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a herniated disc in his lower back.^[17] The injury became evident when Serra was demonstrating a move to his student and fell to the floor in excruciating pain.^[18] In Serra's place, Georges St-Pierre fought and defeated Hughes for what was then the interim UFC welterweight title. This led to Serra holding the welterweight title while St-Pierre held the interim title.

After St-Pierre vs Hughes at UFC 79, Serra confirmed to NBC Sports that his back was rapidly improving. He announced that he was scheduled to fight Georges St-Pierre at the first event to take place in Canada, UFC 83.^[19] This match would unify the interim and lineal welterweight belts.

Rematch with St-Pierre, fight with Matt Hughes, and retirement

At UFC 83 on April 19, 2008, Serra fought Georges St-Pierre in a match to determine the undisputed welterweight champion during the UFC's first-ever event in Canada, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.^[20] Instead of striking, St-Pierre pressed the action early with a takedown and kept mixing up his attack, never allowing Serra the chance to mount a significant offense.^[21] In the second round, St-Pierre continued his previous actions, forcing Serra into the turtle position and delivering repeated knees to Serra's midsection.^[22] When Serra was unable to improve his position or defend against the strikes, referee Yves Lavigne stopped the fight.^[23]

Serra suffered a unanimous decision loss to Matt Hughes at UFC 98. Serra hurt Hughes early on in the fight with an inadvertent head-butt and a follow-up flurry of hooks. However, Hughes recovered and went on to win a close decision.^[24] After the fight Hughes and Serra embraced each other and ended their feud.

At UFC 109, Serra defeated Frank Trigg via KO (punches) at 2:23 of the first round, awarding him Knockout of the Night Honors.^[25][26] Serra was rumored to be headlining UFC Fight Night 22 on April 17, 2010, versus Mike Swick, but the fight was turned down by Swick due to an arm injury.

At UFC 119 Serra fought Chris Lytle on September 25, 2010. Serra lost the fight via unanimous decision.^[27]

In an interview with Ariel Helwani at UFC 131 Serra addressed when or if he would be fighting in the UFC in the foreseeable future. Between the birth of his second child and the rigors of training (Serra himself confirmed that he weighed somewhere around 200 lbs. at interview time), he likened his current situation to that of Rocky Balboa in the sixth film of the series, saying that he still "had some stuff in the basement". ^{[citation needed]}

On May 22, 2013, Serra retired from MMA, stating he would only return to MMA again to fight at an event held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.^[28]

UFC Unfiltered

As of June 2016, Serra currently hosts the official UFC podcast UFC Unfiltered with comedian Jim Norton as co-host.^[29]

UFC Hall of Fame

On the 5th July 2018 Matt Serra was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2018 in the pioneer wing.^[30][31]